Jaimie glanced at her father from the back seat of the car, where she sat with Carrie. He was trembling. She closed her eyes and let herself tremble as well. She didn't know where they were anymore, and she suspected that neither did her dad. From what she saw they were driving aimlessly. They had left Middleton hours ago, and since then had stuck to highways. They'd seen a few cars with other people in them, but those had ignored them and gone speeding ahead. What they hadn't seen was any of the zombies. The highways were deserted of them.
"Where did that radio go?" asked Jaimie, breaking the silence. Ben perked up.
"You have a radio?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Ben, who looked like he had recently woken up from some sort of stupor. "It's in that box of stuff we grabbed. I think I put it in the trunk."
"We should stop and get it," said Carrie.
"No, we shouldn't," said Reuben. He reached down and flicked the car radio on. Ben winced. Then his eyes widened.
"Look," he said.
"Shit," muttered Reuben. A man was standing in the middle of the opposite lane. Actually, Jaimie doubted it was a man, judging by the dark blood stain in the shoulder of his white shirt. The figure moaned. Reuben swerved across lanes. Towards the person.
The car slammed into it, sending the man at least twenty feet into the air. It screamed, but there was something… wrong with the yell. It sounded human. Nothing like the ungodly screeches of the ghouls overtaking the world.
"No…" whispered Carrie. The man landed with a sickly crunch. Reuben glided to a stop. He opened the door, crowbar in hand. Carrie was the second out, followed by Ben and Jaimie.
"Jaimie, stay in the car," said Reuben.
"Screw you!" she yelled at him. Jaimie ran to the wounded man, and knelt over him.
"Is he okay?" asked Carrie, who sidled up next to them. Ben and Reuben stood back.
The man was writhing as well as could with every one of his bones broken. He locked eyes with Jaimie, and she lowered her head to his mouth, close enough to hear the faintest shadow of a whisper.
"My family… 15 Terrace Hill Boulevard…" he said.
"Where?" whispered Jaimie.
"The… the city… I left them, I left them…" he said, as a sob racked his body. "One of them… It bit me… Help my family, my baby-" the man cut off mid sentence and moaned. His eyes closed, and Jaimie heard her first death rattle. She stood up.
"What did he say?" asked Carrie.
"He left his family in the city because he got bitten. He asked me to help them."
"No," said Reuben. "We have enough problems."
"I know we can't," said Jaimie. "It's just sad."
"Oh shit…" said Carrie.
"What?" asked Ben. The man had begun moving. It flopped on the ground, desperately trying to get it's broken bones to work correctly. It flopped like a jelly fish towards Carrie, who backed away in horror. The kindly looking man's eyes had transformed into murderous death, as a snarl escaped the creatures lips.
"Let's keep driving…" said Ben. They all turned to the car.